[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 111 (Thursday, June 8, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36439-36440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-14599]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6713-3]


Adequacy Status of Motor Vehicle Budgets in Submitted State 
Implementation Plans for Transportation Conformity Purposes; District 
of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia; Revised Phase II Plans for the 
Metropolitan Washington D.C. Ozone Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of adequacy status.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that the revised motor vehicle emissions 
budgets (budgets) contained in the revised Phase II Plans for the 
Metropolitan Washington D.C. Ozone Nonattainment Area submitted by the 
Maryland Department of the Environment, Virginia Department of 
Environmental Quality and the District of Columbia Environmental 
Regulation Administration as State Implementation Plans (SIPs) 
revisions are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. The 
revised Phase II Plans were submitted to EPA on February 9, 2000 (VA), 
February 14, 2000 (MD) and on February 16, 2000 (DC). The revised Phase 
II SIPs consist of the revised attainment demonstration (attainment 
plan) for the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Ozone Nonattainment Area. 
EPA has found the attainment budgets in the submitted revised Phase II 
SIPs for the Metropolitan Washington D.C. area adequate for 
transportation conformity purposes.

DATES: The finding that the budgets of the revised attainment plan are 
adequate were made in letters dated May 31, 2000 from EPA Region III to 
the Maryland Department of the Environment, Virginia Department of 
Environmental Quality and the District of Columbia Environmental 
Regulation Administration are effective on June 23, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul T. Wentworth, P.E., U.S. EPA, 
Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 at (215) 814-2183 
or by e-mail at: [email protected] .

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document ``we, us,'' or 
``our'' refer to EPA. The word ``budgets'' refers to the motor vehicle 
emission budgets for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen 
oxides (NOX). The word ``SIP'' in this document refers to 
the revised Phase II SIPs submitted on February 9, 2000, February 14, 
2000 and February 16, 2000 by Virginia, Maryland and the District, 
respectively. The revised Phase II SIPs include the revised attainment 
plan for the one-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for 
ozone for the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Nonattainment Area.
    On March 2, 1999, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that budgets 
contained in submitted SIPs cannot be used for conformity 
determinations until EPA has affirmatively found them adequate. By 
transmittal letters dated as shown below, the Virginia Department of 
Environmental Quality, the Maryland Department of the Environment, and 
the Washington D.C. Department of Health, Air Quality Division each 
formally submitted revisions to the attainment plan consisting of 
changes to the budgets for the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Ozone 
Nonattainment Area. The revised Phase II SIPs submittal dates are:

Virginia--February 9, 2000
Maryland--February 14, 2000
Washington D.C.--February 16, 2000

    On March 2, 2000, we posted the availability of the revised Phase 
II SIPs and their budgets on our conformity website for the purpose of 
soliciting public comment on the adequacy of the budgets. The comment 
period closed on April 3, 2000.
    On May 31, 2000, EPA Region III sent letters to the Virginia 
Department of Environmental Quality, the Maryland Department of the 
Environment, and the Washington D.C. Department of Health, Air Quality 
Division which constituted final Agency actions on the adequacy of the 
budgets contained in the revised Phase II SIPs. Those actions were 
EPA's finding that the mobile budgets contained in the revised 
attainment plan are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. As 
a result of our finding, the attainment budgets contained in the 
submitted revised Phase II SIPs for the Metropolitan Washington D.C. 
Nonattainment Area may be used for future conformity determinations. 
This is an announcement of an adequacy finding that we already made on 
May 31, 2000. The effective date of this finding is June

[[Page 36440]]

23, 2000. This finding will also be announced on EPA's website: http://www.epa.gov/oms/traq (once there, click on the ``Conformity'' button, 
then look for ``Adequacy Review of Submissions for Conformity''). The 
website will contain a detailed analysis of our adequacy finding and 
our responses to the public comments.
    Transportation conformity is required by section 176 of the Clean 
Air Act. EPA's conformity rule requires that transportation plans, 
programs, and projects conform to SIPs and establishes the criteria and 
procedures for determining whether or not they do so. Conformity to a 
SIP means that transportation activities will not produce new air 
quality violations, worsen existing violations, or delay timely 
attainment of the NAAQS. The criteria by which we determine whether 
SIP's budgets are adequate for conformity purposes are outlined in 40 
CFR 93.118(e)(4).
    Please note that an adequacy finding of the mobile budgets of a 
submitted SIP is separate from EPA's completeness determination on that 
SIP, and separate from EPA's final action as to whether or not the SIP 
is approvable. Even if we find budgets adequate, the SIP could later be 
disapproved. We describe our process for determining the adequacy of 
submitted SIP budgets in guidance memorandum dated May 14, 1999 and 
titled ``Conformity Guidance on Implementation of March 2, 1999 
Conformity Court Decision''. We followed this guidance in making this 
adequacy finding for the budgets contained in the revised Phase II SIPs 
submitted on February 9, 2000, February 14, 2000 and February 16, 2000 
by Virginia, Maryland, and the District, respectively. You may obtain a 
copy of this guidance from EPA's conformity web site: http://www.epa.gov/oms/traq (once there, click on the ``Conformity'' button) 
or by calling the contact name listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this notice.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

    Dated: June 1, 2000.
Bradley M. Campbell,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 00-14599 Filed 6-7-00; 8:45 am]
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